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October 2012

By: Jerry Thacker

Real Hope & Change

If you're like me, you haven't been thrilled by the changes that you seen in our society during the past four years. Income is down, jobs are fewer, taxes are higher, the price of gasoline has doubled, and the demands on you have gotten greater. Many times, it seems that those who would change the world in a way that does not include the gospel of real change are winning. The good news is when we read our Bibles, we can come away with the understanding that in the end it is a certainty that God will win. However, that does not excuse us from being involved in the political process in a way that is in keeping with the biblical principles of being salt and light in a world full of corruption.

In less than a month, we will be asked to participate in the privilege of deciding who will run our country for the next four years. Many organizations that receive tax-exempt status from the IRS are reticent to speak out about things political. This need not be. It's true that section 501(c)3 organizations cannot endorse political candidates; however, there are things that we can do and should do. For example, we can talk about right and wrong. We can express our opinion on "cultural" issues such as abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. We can advise people to vote for those whose stated beliefs and political acts such as the casting of votes align with biblical principle. In doing so, we are neither endorsing or not endorsing any particular political candidate.

A long time ago when I worked in the radio business, we talked about the "duck" principle. Basically the reasoning went like this: if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, if it swims in water like a duck, you may be prohibited from saying that it's a duck, but you are not prohibited from saying that it has many duck-like qualities.

As this election draws near, I hope you will reflect upon the fact that now is the time to use your communications networks — whether they are email, text messaging, faxes, or plain old snail mail to let people know that they should vote for the candidates who reflect their principles and the principles of Scripture. God help us to do it.